Desktop deployment strategies, such as personal desktop deployment or server-based computing deployment strategies, suffer from drawbacks. Conventional desktop PC deployment strategies create significant problems with management, upgrade cycles and support requirements that directly translate into a high total cost of ownership. Each desktop PC is installed on the user's desktop, and any hardware maintenance typically requires IT personnel to come to the user's desk. Additionally, PCs age rapidly and are usually replaced on a recurring basis as the hardware becomes dated and/or obsolete. Remote access and distributed, multi-office deployments may amplify these problems.
A server-based computing model solves many of the desktop PC deployment model problems, but at the expense of a less flexible environment. In typical server-based computing architectures, each server hosts a number of users and applications, meaning that one user or application may affect the performance perceived by other users served by the same server. The performance issue associated with thin clients may result in enterprises using server-based computing only for specific niche applications, such as remote access applications. The deployment strategy of combining the desktop PC and the thin client/server-based computing model is subject to these same limitations as each PC still needs to be managed, and the operating system and software may still need to be patched and updated. It would be desirable to provide a system having a lower total cost of ownership of traditional server-based computing systems while avoiding the performance degradation those systems can suffer.